Hi thereThanks for the info. I have a lot of experience with panos but my point is how do you use the variofinder to compose a panoramic when you only see what a single image looks like. The mask is in the way. This in affect hinders you from properly assessing what is possible with the given lens without having to move the mask around while looking through the viewfinder. Is that easy to do if so than it should be ok.

The mask of the Variofinder slides up, down, left and right. First decide on rise/fall, then determine the center of your panoramic scene, next slide the mask left to see where your left edge will end, then repeat on the right. It just takes a bit of user experience. Small pinpoints of light are revealed when the mask is moved. Each dot of light is 5mm of movement. So for a left/right shift, revealing 3 dots of light will be the full shift in one direction.

Rod Klukas from Arca-Swiss USA has a video online that you'll find helpful. The Variofinder explanation is about 9 minutes into the video. You should be able to quickly slide over to 9:00 min to see the Variofinder segment.http://rodklukas.com/video/

Hi Enda I have a 4x5 ground glass sliding back for my Arca Rl3D I can see all of the image onthe ground glass plus there are crop marks to shoot 3 verticals with my p65 back making a 30x60image .The thing I like is cropping pano right on ground glass.Also with other lens I can see the whole imagecircle so I can see whats out of the p65 image box.If you send me your email I;ll send you image of backas its still a beta back John

The lack of portability. I'd end up packing and unpacking the thing every time I'd move. That would drive me nuts.

Way to time consuming. I like the simplicity of the viewfinder with markings. It's a gustimate and the image on the screen lcd alows me to tweak the composition. I will get the e module so focusing should not be an issue.

I played with the sliding back when I tested the RM3D and I think I would have great difficulty seeing the image. I'm so used to the viewfinder. I have become quite good at visualizing the field of view for panoramics using the viewfinder on the Cambo for any of my lenses. The shots I shoot are already very technical. The last thing I need is a sliding back to slow me down further. All I'd need on top of that is having to shoot a dark slide....sorry Doug

I had a great Skype video call with Martin. Some great functionality I wasn't aware ofIf I rotate the camera 90 degrees on the tripod and rotate the back 90 degrees on the camera it allows up to 60mm of shift with 40mm in one direction!!This will also allow me to apply swing. Very useful. The zoom on the viewfinder means I only need one mask for all my viewfinders. No more messing around with different masks which was a bit of a pain with the Cambo. Have booked flights for next Monday. Hoped to go tomorrow but flights would have worked out too expensive. (

Rotate 90%? how do you fix it to your tripot-head ? ..As at one side you have the orange ting to hold it..On the other side you have your cloud module?..

Without a Hudge L bracket i don't see how i can do it ?..Swing could interest me to that's why i ask you..

Also for images with different focus points, the cloud is hudgely practical, as you know what you do ..

More than this, the R serie is compatibel with all the arca F or M line and so ( depending on the size of R you have-, ..Thus if you want a " complete " technical camera, you can buy a " half " F or M, and use your R as a lens plate..

I've got the sliding back too and find it extreamly use full,But what you might want to get too ( if you don't want the sliding back), is the back rotating add-ons. So you don't have to get your back of the camera to rotate it...

I fell in love with the arca system, as i can have multiple different camera's, with on the end a "smaler" investment, as everything works together!..

Next thing i'll buy is a F line, 6x9, and all my accesories form the R works on it. Even the lenzes, ( as arca has a R lens mount for the F line). That's what Sinar and linhof didn't have.

Rotate 90%? how do you fix it to your tripot-head ? ..As at one side you have the orange ting to hold it..On the other side you have your cloud module?..

Without a Hudge L bracket i don't see how i can do it ?..Swing could interest me to that's why i ask you..

Also for images with different focus points, the cloud is hudgely practical, as you know what you do ..

More than this, the R serie is compatibel with all the arca F or M line and so ( depending on the size of R you have-, ..Thus if you want a " complete " technical camera, you can buy a " half " F or M, and use your R as a lens plate..

I've got the sliding back too and find it extreamly use full,But what you might want to get too ( if you don't want the sliding back), is the back rotating add-ons. So you don't have to get your back of the camera to rotate it...

I fell in love with the arca system, as i can have multiple different camera's, with on the end a "smaler" investment, as everything works together!..

Next thing i'll buy is a F line, 6x9, and all my accesories form the R works on it. Even the lenzes, ( as arca has a R lens mount for the F line). That's what Sinar and linhof didn't have.

You just rotate the tripod head as if you were shooting a portrait format shot on a regular camera. You don't need to remove the camera itself. You than take the back off and rotate that too. I actually wanted to fly to Geneva and rent a car because of the nice drive but the flights were ridiculously expensive so I'm going to Paris and down with the TGV

The problem is I just left it to late I don't think that's a problem unless you are doing 360's which you wouldn't to do this way anyway. If you are just doing a single image or a panoramic of say 3 exposures (because of the huge amount of shift possible) than the lens stays still so there shouldn't be any issues.

I ve got the C1 ( like most gearheads have) wonderfull head, but the 90° option, i only use if i can t do other wise, as its, with a heavy cam difficult to level tilt wise... Thats why a L bracket on my 645 was a must !!

Well. After 2 months of been fu*ked around I now have an Arca Swiss Camera system that appears to work.Went to Arca Swiss to pick up the camera system and get a 3 or 4 hours tutorial on the focus ring and the emodule. First problem. Emodule falsely calibrated. Too much time been spent to rectify the problem and as a result, I missed my flight. Got emodule a week later. Went to calibrate emodule. Noticed focus ring was off 2 indexes on all 3 lenses. Sent 3 lenses back for calibration. Got 3 lenses back. Went to calibrate module. Now lenses were all off by 2 indexes in the opposite direction. Sent lenses, back camera, everything back. Got everything back today. Problem solved. One very unimpressed customer. It better be worth it.

Things I love about the camera.The emodule is a piece of genius. Once calibrated it works like a dream. Will make my like so much easier.The Cube head (which I've had for the 2 months) is a thing of engineering beauty. Love it. I love the way once leveled it is level for 360 degrees. This will be invaluable for my 360 degree panoramics.The viewfinder is fantastic. No comparison between it and the Cambo viewfinder. Although what I love about the Cambo viewfinder is that you can see the whole image circle and you can place the rectangle (in your mind) around the viewfinder. Great for someone like me who does a lot of panos. I love the way you can zoom the viewfinder. No need for rummaging around looking for masks as you change lenses. (Right now all lenses are wide angle so I just use the one mask.)I love the ability for tilt in the camera adding extra depth of field. Not always suitable, especially for architectural work where you may have something tall and low down in the shot which would be outside the focus plane (rendering it soft) Never used tilt before so there is a learning curve here.I love the way you can take the front part of the camera off and turn it 90 degrees. This gives you swing as the tilt know is now rotated. This is not possible with RM3D.I love the way you can quickly take the back off 90 degrees as opposed to rotating the camera 90 degrees. This combined with the viewfinder having a second connection piece on it's side makes life easier for portrait format shots. Also it meant I just had to buy a monorail for the camera to get 0 parallax shots for my 360 degree panoramics as opposed to having to use something like a nodal ninja head.I love the way the lens is always fixed during camera movements and not just in one direction and without a bloody expensive adaptor plate (Alpa)I love the incredible amount of movement with the camera. Up to 40 mm rise (and fall if you rotate the camera upside down) and 20mm shift. Great for the 43mm Schneider and the 90mm Rodenstock when I get it.I love the quick release Arca Swiss connection between camera and head.I love the precision of the focus ring. This combined with the emodule will give outstanding precision.Haven't used the 5 x 4 inch back yet but that should be fun.

Things I don't like about the camera.The mask on the viewfinder has several negatives along with the positives. You can only move the mask 15mm up/down and 10mm left/right. A major drawback for anyone who stitches and shoots panoramics beyond 10mm. The mask falls off way to easily and isn't very precise with it's markings. (and yes I have bent the mask slightly to make it "stick" better)I am not a fan of the magnetic cable release. It falls out so easily when holding it in your hand. I'll use if for another while. Hopefully I'll get used to it. Otherwise I'll use a standard cable release.Attaching the lenses is very fiddly. It is quite easy to incorrectly attach the lens, whereby it is not parallel to the sensor. As a result anything beyond 5m or so is soft, even when focused on infinity. For low light photography this may prove to be a right pain in the ass as I may not notice the lens is not completely parallel to the focus ring. Also because the 28mm plate is recessed it is even harder to assertion if it's in correctly.

All in all though it seems to be a fantastic camera. Now to take some bloody photos.